Competition spurring India's electric-mobility ecosystem

There has been a spate of activity in the electric-vehicle (EV) charging space this week.

On Monday, Tata Power told stock exchanges it has set up more than 1,000 EV charging stations in 180 cities, and on state and highways under myriad business models.

A day later, Reliance Industries (RIL) announced the first Jio-bp 'mobility station' at Navde in Navi Mumbai. The RIL and bp collaboration began in August 2019. Further, more than 1,400 fuel pumps of RIL will get rebranded as 'Jio-bp mobility stations'.

The upshot: Jio-bp will also set up a network of EV charging stations and battery-swap stations at its mobility stations and other standalone mobility points.

As Tata Power targets 10,000 charging stations next to enable whole stretches of highways into e-highways across India, its competition with RIL can only be good news for the growing EV industry in India.

Workflow digitisation of health plans

Firstsource Solutions, a business process management firm, has entered into a partnership with Eco-Mail, a leading SaaS provider that transforms physical mail assets into digital assets.

Eco-Mail’s software will be part of Firstsource’s digital enterprise workflow capabilities to enable health plans to rapidly process and digitise incoming paper mail, making speed of processing faster, more accurate and efficient.

“The hybrid remote workforce requires that all organisations operate within a centralised digital hub, and we have made it our mission to support our customers in this time of ongoing transition,” said Venkatgiri Vandali, President, Health Plans and Healthcare Services at Firstsource Solutions, in a stock-exchange filing.

CEAT to focus on EV, sustainability 

Tyre-maker CEAT will focus on technologies like smart tyres, electric vehicle, and sustainability, the company told investors earlier this week. In a board meeting, CEAT's shareholders approved raising Rs 500 crore through issuance of debt securities on a private placement.

The company reported a drop in its operating margin to 8.9 percent for the quarter ended September 2021 from 14.8 percent a year ago. Its consolidated income in the September 2021 quarter was Rs 2,454.5 crore, up 28 percent sequentially and 24 percent higher than a year ago.

NSE's unique investor count crosses 50-million mark

The number of unique registered investors on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India crossed 50 million on Monday.

The last 10 million unique investor registrations have happened in around seven months, compared to the 15 months it took for the NSE to go from 30 million to 40 million unique registered investors.

The growth in investor registrations has largely come from non-metro cities, according to NSE. The cities beyond the top 50 cities accounted for 57 percent of new registrations, while the cities beyond the top 100 cities contributed to 43 percent of new registrations.

Chip shortage to clip auto sector recovery

The global chip shortage will lower India's passenger vehicle (PV) sales by 400-600 basis points, said CRISIL Ratings, based on an analysis of India’s top three PV manufacturers that dominate 71 percent of the market. The PV sales will grow between 11 percent and 13 percent during the fiscal year.

"The upshot of the chip shortage has been PV production cuts, which will have a bearing on the ongoing festive season as well when sales are typically higher," said Anuj Sethi, Senior Director, CRISIL Ratings. Consequently, we foresee tempered overall growth for PVs this fiscal, he added.

Cipla looks to accelerate digitisation

Cipla is accelerating digital transformation to capitalise on growth opportunities across markets, the pharma company told investors at the end of the quarter ended September 2021. It had begun digital transformation in R&D, manufacturing, supply chain and business functions in FY 2021.

Cipla's consolidated revenue for the quarter ended September 2021 was Rs 5,519.8 crore, which was 9.6 percent higher than a year ago, and flat compared to the previous quarter. Its consolidated profit of Rs 711 crore in the second quarter of FY 2021-22 was 7 percent higher than a year ago.

Quess Corp increases stake in  Stellarslog

Quess Corp has invested Rs 80 lakh to increase its stake in Stellarslog Technovation from 33.33 percent to 36.58 percent.

Stellarslog owns and operates digital platform Taskmo, an online marketplace for gig workers. This is Quess Corp's third tranche of investment in Stellarslog, and will strengthen its presence in the gig economy, the company said in a stock-exchange filing. Quess had increased its stake in it from 16.12 percent to 33.33 percent in July this year.

Microsoft acquires Clear Software

Microsoft has acquired Clear Software, a provider of integration and business-process products focused on SAP and Oracle connectivity.

Clear Software’s API access and system knowledge will strengthen Microsoft Power Platform’s integration with outside systems, and accelerate how customers leverage data and processes that reside beyond Microsoft first-party services, the company said in a press statement.